


A New Perspective (A New Loophole)

by NervousAliceCurious



Series: Escape the Night Fandom-Season 3: Meta-World Corruption [5]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Bloodthirsty Clowns, Brief Mention Of Beer Bottles, Gen, Gut Instincts, Hungry Werewolves, Inverted Tuxedoes, Light Paranoia, Mentions of Other Monsters And Violence, Nightmare Fuel, Party Gone Wrong, Random Chases Around The Building, Self-Sacrifice, Talent Show Gone Wrong, mannequins, stab wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 14:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 2,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17326529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousAliceCurious/pseuds/NervousAliceCurious
Summary: So....I have no idea how this works.*(Whispering from the far corner)*Ah.*Ahem* So...We almost died at the biggest Resistance party in years....You can read about it if you want.





	1. Talent Show

That was the fifth time I’d seen this poster:

****

**_Can you act?_ **

**_Can you sing?_ **

**_Can you dance like you mean it?_ **

**_Feel free to do all of these things and more at the SAE’s Celebratory Talent Show!_ **

****

**_It’s this Friday so save the date, and have a wonderful time!_ **

 

****

 

**SIGN-UP :**

 

If I’d had a choice, I wouldn’t have gone.

 

 

Parties are decidedly  _not_ my thing.

 

 

But...

 

 

I had a strong suspicion that, in this case, attendance was mandatory.

 

 

And that belief only increased when I saw about seven different people rush up and down the halls after this very wily girl.

 

“Is that Mystic?”

 

Alice tilted her head sideways, and practically fell off the bed trying to get a better view of the hallway.

 

“It could be”.

 

From my vantage point near the door, I could easily see the absurd action.

 

“How come they’re chasing her?”

 

 

“It sounds like she doesn’t want to sing”.

 

 

“Sing?”

 

Alice sat up a little straighter.

 

“You don’t think she wanted out of the Talent Show, do you?”

 

“That depends. Did she sign up?”

 

“I don’t know...But I  _did_ hear her singing once”.

 

She smiles.

 

It must be playing in her head right now.

 

“She was pretty awesome”.

 

 

...Later on, I checked the list.

 

 

Yes, ETNMystic was on it.


	2. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We show up early, and so does MatPat.

I had to admit:

 

 

For a secret society, they weren’t shy about going all out.

 

 

There must have been one hundred tables or so set up around the green, all surrounded by copious amounts of chairs.

 

The food area in the back had enough appetizers, main courses, _and_ deserts to feed a small country.

 

A roaring campfire was burning its heart out in the middle of it all, and a large stage had been erected in front of a multi-colored tent.

 

Lastly, a make-shift dance floor rested at the foot of said stage ~~which I planned to avoid at all costs.~~

 

 

“Wooow!!”

 

Alice’s eyes were wide with amazement.

 

“How did they get all of this together in the span of _one night!?_ ”

 

“By working until they dropped?”

 

I shrugged.

 

“It seems they are capable of all sorts of impossible things”.

 

-

 

I don’t know why I feel like something’s going to go wrong.

 

 

I just _do._

 

 

Straightening the tie of my white tuxedo, I tried not to look too stressed as I approached Calliope and Alison.

 

The latter turned to me with a worried expression:

 

“Matt, is everything alright?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Had to borrow a bit of dialogue from 'Our Eternity Together', sorry...*


	3. Special Guests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang's (finally) all here!

 

A bit later, it wasn’t just us sitting awkwardly by ourselves.

 

As soon as the hour snuck upon us, many, many people entered the outdoor party area decked out in their evening’s finest.

 

Alice looked down at the burgundy, sweater dress she was wearing.

 

“I feel kinda out-of-place now...”

 

“You look fine to me”.

 

“Thank you...”

 

“Besides, have you seen what I’m wearing?

 

I look like I stepped out of an RPG”.

 

“Ha...!”

 

A woman in a shiny, green ensemble turned around in her seat, a perplexed expression upon her face.

 

“Girl, who you laughin’ at?”

 

The furred ornament on her shoulder chose that moment to fall off, and she ducked under the table to grab it.

 

“Um, nothing...”

 

Re-surfacing as if nothing had happened, she proceeded to give us the side-eye. 

 

“Y’okay, sweetheart”.

 

-

 

“Roila is, and always will be, life itself!”

 

 

“No way, Mattny is!

 

Have you _seen_ the chemistry they have together!?”

 

 

Normally, I would be enjoying the _heck_ out of a debate like this.

 

But today...

 

I just _can’t_ get the suspicion that we’re living on borrowed time out of my head!

 

 

**_Where_ are _they!?_**

 

 

**_Ro, Safiya, Nikita, Manny, Colleen, Gabbie, Lauren...and Mystic._ **

****

-

 

When the song suddenly switched mid-melody, the unspoken cue to ‘quiet down’ rapidly spread like wildfire.

 

All eyes riveted themselves to the stunning newcomers.

****

**_I think I would be more impressed, however, if I knew who they were..._ **

****

 

-

 

They were right.

 

There _is_ a ghost in our midst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, the party begins...


	4. A Shadow In The Crowd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All is not well, I'm afraid...

“Do I dare get up for food?” Alice whispered.

 

“I don’t want our spots to disappear!”

 

“...We could ask the woman with the ermine to hold them for us”.

 

“Mm...yeah, we _could_...”

 

She started to chew on her bottom lip.

 

“But I’ve got a bad feeling that we’ll just make her more suspicious”.

 

**_Hm. She has a point-_ **

 

“Lordy, child!”

 

**_Speak of the devil._ **

 

The woman in green had spun around again.

 

_“Who_ are you talking to!?”

 

“Me- _myself_!!” Alice stammered.

 

“Yeah-huh, I’ll _bet_ you were-!!”

 

While they were busy, I felt a cold chill slide up my spine.

 

 

Someone was watching me.

 

 

I began to search through the crush of partygoers until my eyes settled on a man in a black tux.

 

Nodding to me in greeting, he lifted his glass in a toast.

 

 

**_A toast to_ what!? **I wondered.

 

 

“ _Agents and Writers, please take your seats._

 

_The talent show is about to begin!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've got issues in Paradise, everybody! Sound the alarm-


	5. Enemy Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dark forces are nearer than we thought.

**_This does not bode well._ **

****

As the first act dragged an entire basket full of beer bottles onto the stage, I leaned down to whisper in Alice’s ear:

 

“ _Is there a place we can go where we won’t be overheard?_

_We need to talk”._

At my words, she began to scan the crowd.

 

“ _The food table’s gotten pretty deserted...I think...”_

“So, what is it?”

 

Alice snatched a leftover cookie, and took bites between breaths.

 

“Did you see anything weird?”

 

I looked around one last time before speaking.

 

“Someone here knows that I exist”.

 

A lump of sugar caught in her throat.

 

“Really!?”

 

“Yes, unfortunately”.

“Is it anyone we know?”

 

“I don’t believe so-“

 

_And that was Roi playing ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ on beer bottles!_

“What do we do?

Confront them!?”

 

I remembered the sly smirk on the man’s face.

 

“If we’re going to do it, we’d better make sure we’re surrounded by people”.

 

“Why?

Do you think he might attack us!?”

 

_And now, we have Mystic singing a song from ‘The Phantom of---’_

“Yes”.

 

Alice shivered.

 

“Then I guess we’d better get to it...”

 

-

 

“I’m not singing!

This party is over”.

 

“It’s Mystic!”

Alice tugged on my arm.

“She sounds kinda panicked-!!”

 

Hurrying to the center of the action, we found a lone figure in a stand-off with the guests.

 

Someone in the crowd complained:

“Oh great.

She’s already having her diva fit”.

 

But despite that, she continued on:

 

“This party needs to be over!

We’re all in terrible danger!”

 

As gasps and murmurs arose, a man stepped forward.

 

My blood ran cold.

 

“Is that him?” Alice asked.

 

“Is that the person who knows?”

 

“Yes, that’s him...”

 

 

“Don’t be silly!” he said chidingly.

“This sanctuary is the safest it’s ever been.

Nothing can get in without a key!”

 

Her brows furrowed in annoyance.

 

“Trust me what’s coming is  _more_ than capable enough to make its way inside”.

 

Moving even closer, his tone switched to a condescending softness.

“Oh, poor little girl!”

 

 

He gave the watchers knowing looks.

 

 

“Her naive little mind has let her anxiety run away with her”.

 

“I’m not naïve!” she shot back, “I’m being serious!

They’re closing in!”

 

 

A woman’s voice shattered the tense silence that had fallen.

 

 

“Who?”

 

 

Ignoring the question, he moved still closer!

 

 

“Yes that's a very enthralling story, but it's time for you to sing.

 

I've even installed a special microphone for you.”

 

“I told you already, I’m _not_ singing”.

 

“I strongly suggest you do”.

 

 

 

“Leave her alone!”

 

 

From the edges of the conflict, three people stood up:

 

A man in the white tux, a serious woman in black, and a petite brunette in holly-green.

 

 

Matt, Saf, and Ro, if I remembered correctly...

 

 

“Why would a society agent act like this?” Ro fretted.

 

**_BOOM!!_ **

****

The ground shook, the tent poles groaned, and everyone fought to keep their balance.

 

“Well, I see that another agent has returned”.

 

 

That man hadn’t been fazed one bit.

 

 

“I’d say this calls for a toast, but first-“

 

Turning on his heel, he pointed at a random guest.

 

“You.

Go wait for them”.

 

 

When she shrugged in acquiescence, and stood up, Mystic’s eyes flashed with a nameless terror.

 

“Liza, no!”

 

 

But she was two seconds too late.

 

 

Whirling on him, she yelled:

 

“You’re going to put us all in danger!

Don’t you realize that?”

 

 

Oh, he _did_.

 

 

I could tell by the smug way he retrieved a remote from his breast pocket, and pressed the button.

 

At least one” half of the partygoer’s dropped their heads.

 

“H-huh!?”

 

Alice recoiled in shock.

 

“What the!?”

 

Then they lifted them.

****

What had once been flesh and blood was now...glass eyes, and plastic limbs...

 

They looked like mannequins.

 

No.

 

They _were_ mannequins!

 

“AHAHAHAHA!!

Oh, I am WELL AWARE of it, your majesty”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for casualties.


	6. Surviving The Battle Between Light And Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A warning in advance that this is a long one.

It was pure pandemonium.

 

The mannequins were contorting where they stood, arms clawing at the guests.

 

Screams filled the air as people lost eyeballs, and/or were strangled to death!

 

“C’mon!” I said, grabbing Alice’s shoulders “We need to get out of here!”

 

“Yeah-!”

 

She suddenly lurched forwards, startling and pushing me back in the same instant.

 

“!?”

 

Plastic hands grazed the air where we’d been, razor nails glittering in the dim light.

 

As dull blue eyes met mine, I felt Alice’s hand tugging me away.

 

_Creeak!_

_Crreak!_

We got lost in the battlefield, dodging flailing limbs left and right.

 

 

At this point, the real agents were in the fray.

 

 

But they wouldn’t be enough to stem the impending onslaught.

 

 

We must have been about two steps away from freedom when an entire clan of blood-spattered clowns stalked through the entrance.

 

 

“It’s  _them!!_

 

_Back up, back up-“_

 

“Time to get this party started!” one shouted.

 

The rest of her cohorts gave a hearty affirmation, and sailed into the conflict with ludicrous speed!

 

“Hello, love!”

A green-haired member tugged on his bowtie.

“Who’s your foxy friend?”

 

Alice’s hand shot forward like a cannon, and popped his head back.

 

A swift kick to the groin on my end was the final straw.

 

He fell to the ground, and didn’t get up.

 

“Is he dead!?”

 

“No, but he probably will be in a couple of minutes!”

 

 

I could already see another wave of shadows approaching.

 

 

“There has to be a loose part of the tent somewhere that we can easily slip out of!!”

 

 

Up until now, there hadn’t been a lot of blood spilled.

 

 

Then the pack of werewolves stampeded through.

 

 

**_Awoooooo!!_ **

****

 

That time, we didn’t even say anything to each other about it.

 

We just _ran_.

 

 

“Hey”, Alice panted “Think we...can get to...a deserted...corner...?”

 

“My thoughts exactly...”

 

 

Making our painstaking way to the edge of this mess was _not_ easy.

 

A woman in a jeweled crown sent arcs of magical electricity into the air at random.

 

One of which hit me in the  _back._

 

I couldn’t _breathe._

Dropping to my knees in the dirt, I heard Alice asking frantically if I was alright, what happened, etc...

 

But as she went on, her voice sounded farther and farther away.

 

_Come on, don’t do this..._

I could see a light grow within her, and then exit through her outstretched hands.

 

She did this again, and again...

 

**_What...is something...closing in..._ **

****

Apparently so.

 

When I looked a second time, a crimson rain was spewing through the air.

 

**_Alice!?-_ **

****

Blindly feeling for her, I somehow managed to stand up.

 

_I’m here..._

A pair of burgundy-shrouded arms curled around my upper body, and together, we kept moving.

 

 

Weaving in and around feeding spider legs, frenzied, bloodstained feathers, and a trio of knife-wielders spattered in gore...

 

It was a horror show.

 

Combined with the dying moans of their victims, it was a small miracle that none of us were scarred for life.

 

 

_Here...it is..._

 

An empty corner.

 

Thrusting one hand out, I willed the roots slumbering underneath this small patch to awaken.

 

When one is dealing with tunnel vision, however, it can take an ungodly amount of time for the ‘suggestion’ to register.

 

**_Come on, come on..._ **

 

_Envy, you can stop now..._

 

But still, I kept pushing. That tug of growth had yet to reveal itself to me-

“ _Envy...!”_

 

I snapped to full awareness.

 

**_There’s nothing..._ **

 

I guess...I lacked the proper amount of focus in this condition.

 

 

“Alice, what is it-”

 

Her body slammed into mine, and we both went down.

 

 

_**What the-!?** _

****

 

I reached out a hand to touch her, but she didn't respond.

 

_"Alice!?_ "

 

 

My heart thumped in worry as I turned her over to see the damage-

 

 

**_No._ **

****

 

Three glistening knife handles protruded from her chest.

 

 

“I  _would_ ask how you managed to get on the Sisters’ bad side, but I have the feeling it’d take an hour or so to tell it properly”.

 

“Of course you show up now...”

 

The man who had started it all.

 

His black coat had been repurposed into a tourniquet for his left arm, and I had half a mind to go congratulate whoever had done it.

 

“Is there something you want, or are you here to finish us off?”

 

 

Just in case he intended to do the latter, I pulled Alice into my arms. 

 

 

He wiped a spot of blood from the collar of his otherwise-pristine undershirt.

 

“Defiant to the last...As I expected from the moment I first saw you”.

 

He smiled in satisfaction, and I tried to keep my revulsion in check.

 

 

There was blood on his _teeth_ as well.

 

 

“Don’t worry, you’ve got nothing to fear from me, or my colleagues.

 

_Especially_ the Master himself”.

 

“Is that so?”

 

 

**_You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe a word you say._ **

****

 

“Absolutely”.

 

He walked as close as he could to me without invading my personal space.

 

“After all, thanks to Debra, Sandra, and Belle it’s now common knowledge among our ranks that the SAE have not one iota of an inkling that you exist”.

 

“’SAE’?”

 

“The Society Against Evil.

 

Our sworn enemies.

 

Curious how even your little _sidekick_ didn’t bother to tell you about them”.

 

“She probably just forgot.

 

Things have been rather hectic as of late, if you know what I mean...”

 

I nodded toward the ongoing carnage.

 

 

“Even so, do you realize the position you’re in right now!?”

 

 

He leaned in until our there was barely an inch between us.

 

 

“You could end all of this useless chaos with the blink of an eye!

 

All you’d have to do is bring Mystic to us yourself”.

 

 

...No way.

 

 

I couldn’t-

 

 

“I mean, think about it!

 

If not a one of those on _her_ side can see you, then who will ever know that one of _us_ is in their midst?

 

And, if anyone tries to prove it, they will simply be dismissed as having been infected by the Cursed God!

 

Not to mention that if your attempt was somehow stopped, they wouldn’t be able to capture what they can’t _find_ ”.

 

 

With each point he makes, a sensation of dread burrows deeper into my stomach.

 

Everything he’s saying...

 

Its logic is utterly sound.

 

 

“As for that unfortunate snag where _you_ cannot be if Alice is away whether physically, or spiritually...all you’d have to do to render it ineffective against you is bottle up her soul in a jar-

 

And I can _help_ ”.

 

 

_“No!”_

 

 

I swung my hand out, and a vine erupted from the dirt.

 

Coiling tightly around his waist, it lifted him into the air-

 

  
“This conversation isn’t over”, he declared calmly as I cock my arm back to send him flying as _far_ away from us as I possibly could.

 

 

“This is merely the beginning”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who made it to the end, congrats! You've almost made it out alive.


	7. Retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope I didn't scare you...

As soon as he was gone from my sight, I ripped up a section of tent fabric from the ground.

 

I had to get Alice to the Bunker, even if it wasn’t a safe place to be anymore.

 

Sliding her gently under the gap, I soon followed suit.

 

 

There was less fighting going on here...

 

It was open forest from this point onward.

 

I made a mental note of its existence, and scooped her up in my arms.

 

 

Hurrying around the side of the battleground, it was almost no trouble at all to reach the entrance.

 

Matt, Saf, and Ro were currently forcing open the door with a shell-shocked Mystic in tow.

 

 

It was lucky that they were too busy trying to get her away from the Cursed God to notice that Alice was floating a good foot in the air.

 

 

I laid her down nearby...and waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Mystic: I am so sorry.


	8. After Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We may be safe for now, but at what cost?

I will never forget it.

 

Mystic’s scream upon seeing-

 

...

 

I didn’t see it at first glance, but they were injured as well.

 

I hope I didn’t drive her over the edge.

 

I  _really_ hope I didn’t...

 

 

Anyway.

 

I don’t know how they did it, but they managed to beat him back.

 

The Cursed God and his thousands of minions.

 

At the time I was standing by an operating table trying not to freak out as Calliope(?) somehow magically withdrew the knives from Alice’s body.

 

So I didn’t _see_ it, per se...

 

But when they moved Alice to the infirmary, I heard those who were conscious talking about it in low voices.

 

 

 

I know that I should feel some sense of relief from the news.

 

 

 

But I don’t.

 

 

That man’s words keep running through my head.

 

 

And try as I might, I can’t shut them out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, everyone.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: And a big round of applause for our new MC!!
> 
> Envy: I'm pretty sure I did a terrible job, but thank you anyway.


End file.
